Testing the Tin Can Stove

Owen Stirring

Tin Can Stove in Operation

During the 2012-2013 winter, our grandsons, Owen and Grant, saw a video HERE on YouTube describing how to build a camp stove from a couple of tin cans.  They were fascinated and talked Evelyn into helping them make it as a "project."  I was called in to provide the tools (tin snips) but Evelyn and the boys did the rest.  The project was complete in a little over an hour but we waited for an opportune time to "test" out the stove.

Saturday night the boys came for a visit and brought the stove with them.  We were having hot dogs with homemade chili (sauce) for dinner so they decided to heat the hot dog chili with their stove.  It worked GREAT!  The pan they had which fit exactly on top of the stove was a bit small but it worked fine.  They just had to fill it three times to heat all the chili!

The stove consists of a Tuna Fish can with the tuna and the lid removed.  Cardboard is cut and wound inside the can in a spiral and then filled with melted candle wax.  The wicks from the melted candles  are placed in the center of the cardboard spiral to allow easy lighting of the stove.  A larger can has been cut (with the tin snips) to provide a place to slide the Tuna Fish can inside it.  Vent holes are cut into the top of the larger can with a can opener.  Then a piece of coat hanger is attached to the Tuna Fish can lid and the project is complete.

Grant Watching the Cook

As you can see, we put down some cardboard to protect the back porch from any "splatter" or "over-flow" from the stove.  The stove itself we sat on a paving stone so as to not set the cardboard on fire!  In the photo on the right where Grant is watching the stove, you can see that some of the candle wax has over-flowed from the small Tuna Fish can and it ran out on the paving stone.

In the photo on the upper-right which shows Owen stirring the chili, you can see the Tuna Fish can lid that is attached to a coat hanger sitting on the paving stone.  This is used to regulate the heat or to extinguish the flame.  It worked quite well.

Dinner was an absolute success!  And, after the stove was extinguished, there is still plenty of wax/cardboard "fuel" for a future "cook."

Click on any photo to see it larger.